How the strike zone affects everything

But is it actually? Can the average ump-heckling fan feel his boos are justified?

Well, the stat geeks will tell you that the varying zones have considerable impacts on advanced sabermetrics such as Fielding Independent Pitching (considered the purest measure of a pitcher’s performance) and kwERA (earned run average based solely on walks and strikeouts). And if you type that into Google Translator real quick, click Stat Geek to English, it’ll tell you that … the strike zone is, in fact, influencing the game.

For a more digestible look at the zone’s effect on run-production, let’s juxtapose Weinstock’s article with a chart put together by University of Florida professor Brian Mills, who tabulated the average number of runs per game 75 plate umpires saw from 2007-2010.

Ready? The umpires with the five smallest strike zones all yielded more runs per game than the mean, while three of them (Tschida, Tim McClelland and Chad Fairchild) were among the top eight in runs allowed. Conversely, the umps with the five largest strike zones all saw fewer runs per game than the mean, with three (Eddings, Bill Miller and Ron Kulpa) landing in the bottom 14. McCelland’s RPG was 9.82 compared to Eddings’ 8.56.

Does this prove beyond all reasonable doubt than the man behind the catcher is having a significant impact on results? No. But it seems to have a pretty good shot at the civil trial.

Umpire Seth Buckminster calls a second strike as Los Angeles Angels' John Hester bats against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning in an exhibition spring training baseball game Sunday, March 10, 2013, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)— AP

Umpire Seth Buckminster calls a second strike as Los Angeles Angels' John Hester bats against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning in an exhibition spring training baseball game Sunday, March 10, 2013, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
/ AP

“We are asking humans to perform a discriminatory task, where a ball moving imperceptibly fast is being judged by a person trying to be perceptive,” said the aforementioned Dan Brooks, also a psychology professor. “But it’s really interesting to look at the way in which umpires judge the strike zone, and how it differs from person to person.”

But that cosmic entity that is the strike zone reacts to more than just an umpire. The count, the pitcher’s target, the type of pitch, the side of the plate the batter swings from, and a slew of other circumstances can trigger its mutation.

Why is that, though? And … is this necessarily a bad thing?

Oh, and enough with the nerds. What do the players themselves think?

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“Jesus. Where’s the outside corner? I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for that.”

— Mariners All-Star pitcher Felix Hernandez, reacting to a graphic illustrating how his strikes are called in comparison to Livan Hernandez’s.

Have to be smart when approaching ballplayers on this subject, because there are certain buzzwords that will put their answers on auto pilot and “umpire” is one of them. You could literally say to a left fielder “there’s an umpire wanted on three counts of GTA,” and he will respond “umpires have a really tough job and are the best in the world at what they do.”

But once players realize that they are not being asked to criticize but simply relay their observations, the experiences they share often match up with academic findings to a tee.

Padres third baseman Chase Headley, for example, has emerged as one of the finest switch-hitters in baseball. However, he has noticed one incessantly irksome consequence of batting left-handed, and that’s the strike zone’s inclination to drift a couple inches off the outside corner.